What were your first impressions of Azerbaijan when you came
here a few months ago?

I arrived in Baku in November
1994. For the previous four years, I had been working in South
Africa. Baku makes a strong first impression on foreigners with
its variety of architecture and great number of music and cultural
institutions. There's an oriental section in the town with the
old architectural monuments such as the Maiden Tower and the
Palace of the Shirvanshah, and there's a more European section
that grew rapidly during the Oil Boom at the turn of the century.
Private commercial business is beginning to develop. It doesn't
take long to realize there is great economic potential here.

Is this what you expected?

Last summer when I was sitting
in my office in Pretoria, a representative of the German Ministry
of Foreign Affairs from Bonn called to ask if I would consider
heading up the German Embassy in Baku. The call came so unexpectedly.
Azerbaijan? I had to think where it was on the map. All I could
imagine was some country far away on the shores of the Caspian,
rich in oil. I had no other knowledge except that it was a former
Republic of the Soviet Union and that it had enjoyed its own
independence for a very short period (1918-1920) prior to Soviet
rule.

Right:The
German church in Baku - famous for its pipe organ concerts.

To be frank, I had mixed
feelings about coming. But upon arrival, I saw that this city
is a great synthesis of diverse cultures.

Located on the shores of the Caspian, it's not like you imagine
so many other former Soviet cities to be-so gray and listless.
Baku is full of life. You always see lots of people walking on
the streets. I'd have to admit I've already grown attached to
this city and its people in these short months.

Are you aware that in the
19th century, after Germany's war with Napoleon, hundreds of
Germans migrated here to Azerbaijan in an attempt to escape hunger
and starvation?

I never expected to find any
traces of Germany in Azerbaijan. There's the town of Khanlar
which even went by the German name, Helenendorf, in the 19th
century. Even today you can find people of German descent. I've
visited wine factories built by German colonists and discovered
that between the towns of Helenendorf and Kedabek, Germans used
to be involved in copper mining.

Few people realize that Baku
at one time even had a German mayor, Nikolaus von der Nonne.
Back at the turn of the century in the section of Baku known
as "Black City" (because of its proximity to the oil
fields), there used to be a German Consulate headed by Otto Tiedemann.
And over on the "28th of May Street", the German "Kirche"
(church) still stands with its easily recognizable German-style
architecture. Of course, prisoners of war have left their mark
on this city as they were forced to build what has turned out
to be many of the finest buildings of that period. For example,
the Government Building which houses most of the Ministries was
built between 1945-49 by German prisoners. Today, we are interested
in reviving the memory of everything that is connected with our
German ancestry here.

What spheres do you see Germany
and Azerbaijan collaborating in?

Left: State Ministry Building constructed by German
Prisoners of War in Baku.
We'd like to cooperate in the fields of gas and oil prospecting,
building pipelines, and in the construction and reconstruction
of oil-processing factories. Chemistry also interests us. The
industrial city of Sumgayit, north of Baku, has many petro-chemical
factories, some of which produce polymers which are in great
demand in Germany. We see opportunities in machine-building,
instrument-making, building construction, water supply, electric
energy, telecommunications and food production.

Already there are nearly 30 German companies working in Baku
and others want to get established soon. Lufthansa Airlines will
be opening a route to Baku from Frankfurt beginning May 1st which
will entail both passenger and cargo service.

Some companies, such as Grunewald and Grimma, are already involved
in oil and oil refining. The chemical company, Hoechst, has representatives
here. Wirtgen is involved with building the runway at the Baku
airport. Siemens plans to get involved with providing up-to-date
equipment for electric power plants. This summer, Mercedes Benz
and Volkswagen plan to open commercial enterprises here. They'll
be selling cars as well as providing a very high level of car
service. Even German produced goods are beginning to appear in
shops.

Are you satisfied with the
state of economic relations between Germany and Azerbaijan?

We're still at an early stage.
I'm often asked why Germany, which is such a highly developed
industrialized country, is so sparsely represented here. But
Azerbaijan still needs to create the economic and legislative
prerequisites to attract foreign investment. For example, foreign
companies need to be able to acquire land to build new enterprises.
Taxes must be more amenable. Privatization must be carried throughout
the country. The flow of currency must be facilitated. So the
number of foreign investments directly relates to the willingness
of Azerbaijan's government to carry out reforms.

Is Germany involved with
any of the European Community (EC) projects here?

In 1993-94 we allocated 2.3
million Deutsche Marks for various training programs and we'll
be increasing that figure to DM 3 million this year. Much of
the money goes for providing Azerbaijan with legal advisers and
counselors to carry out reforms. And then we've designated 5
million marks as assistance with refugees. Since Germany is economically
one of the strongest members of the European community, we pay
for 20% of all EC programs in Azerbaijan.

How is it that you've been
so active with the Azerbaijan refugees?

Germany is quite sensitive to
the plight of refugees. Since the end of World War II up until
1989, we knew what it meant to be separated as a nation and we
have suffered from our own share of refugee problems. That's
why we understand how much the refugees want to go back to their
own land in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas. It is
necessary to try to find a resolution for both sides of this
conflict.

What is Germany's position
on Nagorno-Karabakh?

We support the activities of
the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)
and are actively involved with the Minsk Group, the committee
within the OSCE which has been given the responsibility of dealing
with the Karabakh problem. Unfortunately, continuation of this
conflict blocks the harmonious development of both Azerbaijan
and Armenia. We support Azerbaijan's right to maintain its sovereign
borders. We are convinced that the Armenians should withdraw
their army from Nagorno-Karabakh and other land they are currently
occupying (20% of Azerbaijan's territory). We believe Azerbaijan
should give Armenians greater autonomy in the region. But that
doesn't mean Karabakh should become an autonomous country of
its own.

We see parallels to our situation in Germany where there are
16 federal lands which are similar to states within states. Their
autonomy means that these areas are allowed a high degree of
self-regulation in certain areas related to local government
issues and their own cultural policy as it relates to language
and religion. But the larger issues of foreign commerce, defense,
monetary policy come under the authority of Germany as a whole.
Maybe the day will come when such an arrangement is possible
in Azerbaijan. Perhaps, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, for example,
could live as Bavarians in Bavaria live inside Germany.

What kinds of relations does
Germany have with Azerbaijan in the sphere of education and culture?

We provide a number of scholarships
for Azerbaijani students and scholars. Baku and Mainz as well
as Sumgayit and Ludwigshafen are "Sister Cities". At
the end of last year, we held a "German Culture Week"
in Azerbaijan. In the future, we want to arrange for the exchange
of artists and musicians.

We intend to arrange an exhibition of German films here. On the
commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the composer, Paul
Hindemith, we plan to hold a series of concerts by German musicians.

Do you think your assignment
in Azerbaijan will prove beneficial to your career as a diplomat?

Definitely. There's no doubt
about it. Actually, living here enables me not only to experience
the transition process of Azerbaijan in its early stages of independence,
but it gives me a chance to take part as a diplomat. We've been
going through a similar process in Germany for some time now.

The process of reunification of Germany isn't completed yet.
I see many parallels between our transition and those of post-Soviet
countries though frankly speaking, their task is much more difficult
as East Germany had only to be integrated with the much more
developed West Germany.

The former Soviet Republics are entirely on their own. The determination
to initiate economic reforms is imperative; it's a process that
requires a lot of patience. We hope we'll be able to share some
of the valuable lessons we've learned and experienced with the
Azerbaijanis.